Self-watering plant holder

ABSTRACT

A self-watering plant holder having a central, upright post with four horizontal radial arms extending outwardly thereof. A plant container, such as a bucket with a handle, is mounted on each radial arm. A base extends radially outwardly in a preferred embodiment from the lower end of the post to support the post. A manifold is mounted to the post, and houses a chamber with a closure for the addition of water and/or fertilizer. Watering lines extend from the manifold into one or more of the plant containers for watering and/or feeding the plants.

(b) CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/296,713 filed Jun. 8, 2001.

(d) REFERENCE TO AN APPENDIX

[0002] (Not Applicable)

(c) STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY-SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

[0003] (Not Applicable)

(e) BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0004] 1. Field of the Invention

[0005] This invention relates generally to an apparatus for holdingplants, and more specifically to an apparatus that waters the plantswhich are held by it.

[0006] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0007] In order to have the soil and light that gardens require, mostgardeners plant their gardens in the soil around their homes. However,as real estate becomes more expensive, and as more people dwell inapartments and condominiums, the previously common house with a yard hasbecome more rare. Thus, those who desire a garden may be limited intheir choices.

[0008] One alternative to a garden in a yard is potted plants, whichordinarily can be grown anywhere. However, potted plants must be wateredfrequently if they are indoors, and potted plants take up a lot of flooror shelf space relative to their production of flowers or fruit comparedto plants grown in the ground.

[0009] In order to make efficient use of space, various structures havebeen invented that hold potted plants. However, these structures do notprovide an optimal gardening environment. Therefore, the need arises fora plant hanging structure that maximizes the convenience of gardeningwhile minimizing the space consumed by the plants.

(f) BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0010] The invention is a plant holder. The plant holder includes anupright post having an upper end and a lower end. First and second armsextend radially from the post, and first and second plant containers areconnected to the first and second arms, respectively.

[0011] A manifold is mounted to the upright post, and the manifold has ahousing defining a chamber. The chamber is formed in the housing and isfor containing water. A closure, such as a lid, is formed in thehousing. The closure is adapted to permit matter, such as fertilizer, tobe placed in the chamber.

[0012] A plurality of watering lines is mounted to the manifold witheach line having a sidewall defining an internal passage. The internalpassages of the watering lines are in fluid communication with thechamber. Each of the watering lines has a nozzle near a respective plantcontainer.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment, a water source adapter is mounted tothe manifold in fluid communication with the chamber for connecting awater source conduit to the manifold. A base is mounted to the post'slower end and extending radially outwardly from the post for supportingthe post.

(g) BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014]FIG. 1 is a view in perspective illustrating the preferredembodiment of the present invention.

[0015]FIG. 2 is a side view illustrating the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

[0016]FIG. 3 is a view in perspective illustrating the preferredmanifold.

[0017]FIG. 4 is a view in perspective illustrating an alternativeembodiment of the present invention.

[0018]FIG. 5 is a top view illustrating an alternative embodiment of thepresent invention.

[0019]FIG. 6 is a view in perspective illustrating an alternative base.

[0020]FIG. 7 is a view in perspective illustrating a sun shade for thepresent invention.

[0021]FIG. 8 is a view in section illustrating an adapter that supportsa plant container over a base member.

[0022]FIG. 9 is a top view illustrating an alternative embodiment of thepresent invention.

[0023]FIG. 10 is a side view illustrating an alternative embodiment ofthe present invention.

[0024] In describing the preferred embodiment of the invention which isillustrated in the drawings, specific terminology will be resorted tofor the sake of clarity. However, it is not intended that the inventionbe limited to the specific term so selected and it is to be understoodthat each specific term includes all technical equivalents which operatein a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose. For example, theword connected or term similar thereto are often used. They are notlimited to direct connection, but include connection through otherelements where such connection is recognized as being equivalent bythose skilled in the art.

(h) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0025] The preferred plant holder 10 is shown in FIG. 1 having a centralupright post 12 extending upwardly from a base 14. The base 14 is arectangular, and preferably square, arrangement of attached structures.The central post 12 extends telescopically at its lower end into anupwardly extending receiver 26 in a base hub 20. The radial base members16, 17, 18 and 19 extending radially outwardly from the base hub 20. Theradial base members 16-19 insert telescopically into four radiallydirected receivers 22 on the base hub 20. Screws insert through thereceivers 22 and seat against the outer surfaces of the radial basemembers 16-19 in order to hold the radial base members in the receivers.A square circumferential member extends entirely around the radialmembers 16-19 and mounts at ends of the radial members 16-19 oppositethe base hub 20 in a similar manner to the attachment of the radial basemembers 16-19 to the receivers 22.

[0026] Of course, other bases will be understood to be equivalent by theperson having ordinary skill from the disclosure herein. For example,the base can be triangular, circular or any other geometric shape thatprovides stability to the central post, thereby preventing it fromfalling over. Alternatively, the base can comprise radial members only,i.e., without a circumferential member (see FIG. 9). Furthermore, asmaller base can be used if it is attached, such as by stakes, to theground on which it rests. These alternative bases are examples of someother possible bases. A person of ordinary skill will recognize thatother bases are possible, but are too numerous to list.

[0027] The structural members of the plant holder 10 are preferablysteel square tubing that is welded together in a conventional weldingprocess. For example, the narrower members can be one and one-half inchsquare tubing, and the wider members can be two inch square tubing.Square tubing of these dimensions fits together telescopically asdescribed above. However, it will become apparent that the members canbe made of other metals, plastic, wood, composite or virtually any otherstructural material. The members can be injection molded, cast,extruded, pultruded or formed in other conventional forming processes.

[0028] At its upper end, the central post 12 extends telescopically intoa downwardly extending receiver 28 of a hanger hub 30. The hanger hub 30is essentially identical to the base hub 20, except that the hanger hub30 is inverted, and is preferably positioned about six to seven feetabove the lower surface of the base 14 due to the height of the post 12.The hanger receivers 32 extend radially outwardly, and preferablyhorizontally, from the downwardly extending receiver 28 and the radialarms 36, 37, 38 and 39 insert telescopically at inner ends into thehanger receivers 32. Screws are mounted through the receivers 32 to seatagainst the inserted radial arms 36-39 for fastening the parts together.

[0029] The radial arms 36-39 extend radially outwardly of the centralpost 12, terminating at ends spaced about two feet from the axis of thecentral post 12. Of course, this distance, the number of radial arms andthe shapes of the arms can be changed from the preferred embodimentshown, as will be recognized by the skilled artisan. Rigidly mounted onthe upper edge of the radial arms 36-39 are U-shaped retainers 40, 41,42 and 43, which serve a purpose described next.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 2, the plant containers 46 and 48 are mounted tothe radial arms 36 and 38, respectively. Each of the plant containers 46and 48 is preferably a conventional bucket having a handle that extendsupwardly from rotational attachment at one side of the container, overthe respective radial arm (near its end), to rotational attachment atthe opposite side of the container. The uppermost points of the buckets'handles are preferably inserted within the U-shaped retainers 40-43 toprevent rolling of the handles off of the radial arms 36-39.

[0031] A manifold 60 is mounted on the exterior of the central post 12intermediate, and preferably about halfway, along the post's height byconventional threaded U-bolts. Of course, the manifold 60 could bemounted within the central post 12 or formed integrally with the centralpost. A chamber 62 (see FIG. 3) is formed within the manifold 60 forreceiving and dispensing water. The preferred manifold 60 is made of oneand one-half inch PVC pipe with a lower end that has a hose fitting 64onto which a conventional garden hose can be mounted. The fitting 64 hasa passage through which water in the passageway of a hose can pass. Thepassage in the fitting 64 extends into the chamber 62, thereby directingwater flowing under pressure through a connected hose to flow into thechamber 62. The preferred fitting 64 is a quick-connect fitting, but canbe a simple conventional threaded garden hose fitting

[0032] The upper end of the manifold is angled at 45 degrees and aclosure, which is preferably the screw-on cap 66, is removably mountedto the upper end of the housing of the manifold 60. Upon removal of thecap 66, the chamber 62 is accessible to add material, such asfertilizer, insecticide, selective herbicide, minerals, or other matterthat is desired to mix with or be suspended in water flowing into thechamber 62 through the fitting 64. The water preferably flows into thechamber 62 somewhat turbulently, thereby mixing the water with the addedmaterial.

[0033] Four branched tubing outlets 70, 71, 72 and 73 are mounted to thesidewall of the manifold 60. The outlets 70-73 are rigid, T-shaped tubesthat have passages extending from fluid communication with the chamber62 to two opposing ends spaced from the manifold 60. Thus, the outlets70-73 permit water in the chamber 62 to flow out of the manifold 60.

[0034] Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, the flexible watering lines80-83 are mounted to the ends of the outlets 70 and 72 that are spacedfrom the manifold 60. The watering lines 80-83 extend upwardly to theoutermost ends of the radial arms 36-39. The watering line guides,preferably metal washers, are mounted at the outermost ends of theradial arms 36-39, and the watering lines 80-83 extend through theapertures thereof. The guides maintain the positions of the ends of thewatering lines 80-83 above the plant containers, and prevent thewatering lines from flailing when the water first begins to flow.

[0035] The watering lines 84-87 are mounted to the ends of the outlets71 and 73 that are spaced from the manifold 60. The watering lines 84-87are able to extend downwardly into plant containers that are positionedon or around the base 14. For example, if plant containers arepositioned in the openings in the base 14 between the radial members16-19, the watering lines 84-87 can be placed with their ends in thecontainers.

[0036] Of course, watering lines 80-87 could be integral with thecentral post, or they could extend along the inside of a hollow centralpost. Additionally, the watering lines could have fittings on their endsthat attach the lines together when the plant holder is assembled.

[0037] Once the plant containers with plants therein are positioned onthe plant holder 10, the manifold 60 is filled with water and the wateris directed out of the manifold 60 under pressure through the wateringlines 80-87 into the plant containers. Any material added to the chamber62 mixes with the water when it enters the chamber and is conveyed tothe plants via the watering lines 80-87. The water or water/materialmixture pours out of the watering lines 80-87 into the plant containers.

[0038] The water and fertilizer in the manifold 60 flows more easilythrough the lower watering lines 84-87 than the upper watering lines80-83. Therefore, it may be desirable to eliminate the lower wateringlines 84-87 and water lower plant containers by water dripping down intothe lower containers through openings in the upper containers.Alternatively, it is possible to mount manually actuated valves 76 and78 to the outlets 73 and 71, respectively. The valves 76 and 78 cancontrol the size of orifices through which water can flow out of themanifold 60 into the lower watering lines 84-87. By increasing ordecreasing the size of the orifices, the resistance to the flow of wateris correspondingly adjusted. This adjustment permits the amount of watergoing to the upper plants to be equal to the amount of water going tothe lower plants.

[0039] The manifold 60 can be filled merely by filling the chamber 62through the cap 66, such as with a pitcher of water. Alternatively, themanifold 60 can be filled manually by turning on a spigot to which ahose connected to the fitting 64 is attached. Water will flow into andout of the manifold 60 until the spigot is turned off. Alternatively,the watering action can be controlled by a conventional watering timermounted to the plant holder 10, the water spigot, the manifold 60 orotherwise interposed between the water source and the manifold 60. Thistimer turns the flow of water into the manifold 60 on and off, therebypermitting regular, automatic watering of the plants.

[0040] The ends of the watering lines 80-87 have nozzles that cause thewater flowing out to form a stream that gently waters the plants.Alternatively, the watering lines 80-87 can have nozzles that form amist that not only waters the soil of the containers, but also fallsonto the leaves, flowers, fruit and stems of the plants.

[0041] In an alternative embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 7,the plant holder 310 has a shade 312. The shade 312 is preferably afabric on a frame 314 that is mounted to the hanger hub 330. The shade312 is positioned to block or reduce the sunlight falling on one or moreof the plants in the plant containers mounted on the plant holder 310.The fabric is preferably a conventional shading fabric or netting.

[0042] In an alternative embodiment of the present invention shown inFIG. 4, the upright post 112 is mounted in the Earth beneath the plantholder 110. This is contemplated to be any ground surface, such as soil,sand, gravel or a mixture that is normally present for walking upon.However, concrete, asphalt pavement, wooden and plastic decks and othermaterials are walked upon and the upright post 112 can be mountedtherein. Therefore, the definition of Earth for the purposes of thisinvention includes any surface that can be walked upon by an averageperson, included, without limitation, those that have been discussedabove.

[0043] The upright post 112 is preferably a common “four by four” madeof wood but could be a metal, concrete, composite or other kind of postof any size. The post 112 inserts at its lower end into the Earth and atits upper end inserts telescopically into the hanger hub 130, which isessentially identical to the hanger hub 30 described above except forthe dimensions of the downwardly extending receiver 128. The receiver isenlarged to accept the larger four-by-four wooden post 112. The manifold160 mounts to the upright post 112 with conventional fasteners, and hasa pair of T-shaped outlets 170 and 171 to which the watering lines180-183 are mounted.

[0044] The plant holder 110 functions essentially the same as the plantholder 10 described above, except that there are no lower wateringlines. This is because any lower plants can be placed directly beneaththe upper plant containers to receive any water that drips out ofopenings in the floors of the upper plant containers. Of course, lowerwatering lines could be added as an alternative.

[0045] Also contemplated is a plant holder 210 having a base that ismade of a pan 200 that is mounted to a central post 212, as shown inFIG. 6. The pan 200 has a floor 202 with a rigidly attached upwardlyextending receiver 204 into which the central post 212 extendstelescopically. A pan sidewall 206 is formed at the peripheral edge ofthe floor 202, thereby forming a reservoir with the floor 202 in whichsoil and plants can be placed and retained. The weight of the soil,plants and water in the pan 200 keeps the plant holder 210 from fallingover.

[0046] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the radial arms 36-39 arepositioned directly above the radial base members 16-19, respectively,of the base 14. The plant containers that are hung on the radial arms36-39 can have apertures in the bottoms thereof to permit the waterpoured into them to drip out into containers positioned on the basedirectly beneath. However, because the radial arms 36-39 are positioneddirectly over the radial base members 16-19, it may be difficult toplace plant containers directly beneath the radial arms 36-39. However,an adapter can be used that enables one to place the plant containersdirectly over the radial members 16-19 of the base. Such an adapter 400is shown in FIG. 8.

[0047] The adapter 400 rests over a radial base member 402 of a base.The adapter 400 has a lower U-shaped member 404 and an upper U-shapedmember 406. The lower member 404 extends over the radial base member 402and rests upon the radial base member 402 and the ground on which theradial base member 402 rests. The upper member 406 is rigidly mounted tothe lower member 404, and has an upper surface 408 upon which a plantcontainer can rest. The wider upper member 406 provides much morelateral support for a plant container than the radial base member 402.

[0048] Alternatively, the hanger hub 30 can be formed with a rotatablejoint between the receivers 32 and the downwardly extending receiver 28.Such a joint would permit rotary motion of the hanger hub 30 relative tothe receiver 28, which contains the upright post 12. This rotary motionpermits realignment of the radial arms 36-39 directly over the openportions of the base 14 between the radial members 16-19 (or any otherpart of the base) so that water poured into the plant containers mountedon the radial arms 36-39 drips down into the plant containers mounted inthe open portions of the base 14. This eliminates or decreases the needfor watering lines extending downwardly from the manifold 60.

[0049] In a still further alternative embodiment, the arms 636, 637, 638and 639 can be positioned rigidly over the openings in the base 620.This is shown in FIG. 9 in which an alternative set of arms for holdingthe plant containers is also illustrated.

[0050] It is also possible to have more than one vertical level ofhorizontal radial arms on which plant containers can hang. For example,the plant holder 510 has a first level of radial arms 536 and 538 at thetop of the central post 512, and another level of radial arms 540 and542 mounted to the central post 512 between the bottom and the top ofthe central post 512. The radial arms 540 and 542 can be longer orshorter than the radial arms 536 and 538.

[0051] While certain preferred embodiments of the present invention havebeen disclosed in detail, it is to be understood that variousmodifications may be adopted without departing from the spirit of theinvention or scope of the following claims.

1. A plant holder comprising: (a) an upright post having an upper endand a lower end; (b) first and second arms extending radially from thepost; (c) first and second plant containers connected to the first andsecond radially extending arms, respectively, the plant containerscontaining plants; (d) a manifold mounted to the post, the manifoldhaving a housing defining a chamber for containing water; and (e) atleast one watering line having a sidewall defining an internal passage,said watering line being mounted at a first end to the manifold with thewatering line's internal passage in fluid communication with thechamber, and said watering line having a nozzle at a second end near arespective plant container.
 2. The plant holder in accordance with claim1, wherein the manifold chamber has a closure adapted to permit matterto be placed in the chamber for mixing with water in the chamber.
 3. Theplant holder in accordance with claim 2, further comprising a watersource in fluid communication with the chamber for conveying water intothe chamber.
 4. The plant holder in accordance with claim 3, furthercomprising a timer interposed between the manifold and the water source,the timer having a valve for connecting and disconnecting the source ofwater from the manifold's chamber at predetermined times.
 5. The plantholder in accordance with claim 3, further comprising a plurality ofwatering lines, each watering line having a sidewall defining aninternal passage, each of said watering lines being mounted at a firstend to the manifold with the watering line's internal passage in fluidcommunication with the chamber, and each of said watering lines having anozzle at a second end near a respective plant container.
 6. The plantholder in accordance with claim 5, wherein at least some of the wateringlines extend from the manifold into the plant containers.
 7. The plantholder in accordance with claim 5, wherein at least some of the wateringlines have misting nozzles positioned near a respective plant containerfor spraying water in a mist onto the plant.
 8. The plant holder inaccordance with claim 5, further comprising at least one variableorifice valve interposed between the manifold and the watering lines. 9.The plant holder in accordance with claim 1, wherein the manifoldremovably mounts to the post.
 10. The plant holder in accordance withclaim 1, wherein the manifold is integral with the post.
 11. The plantholder in accordance with claim 1, wherein the post is mounted at itslower end in the Earth.
 12. The plant holder in accordance with claim 1,further comprising a base mounted to the post's lower end, the baseextending radially outwardly from the post for supporting the post. 13.The plant holder in accordance with claim 12, wherein the base includesa plurality of base members extending radially outwardly from the post.14. The plant holder in accordance with claim 13, further comprising atleast one adapter resting upon at least one of the base members forreceiving a plant container and supporting the container on the basemember.
 15. The plant holder in accordance with claim 14, furthercomprising third and fourth arms extending radially from the post. 16.The plant holder in accordance with claim 1, further comprising a thirdplant container positioned beneath the first plant container, forreceiving water that falls from the first plant container.
 17. The plantholder in accordance with claim 1, further comprising a planar pan nearthe lower end of the post, the pan having a floor extending radiallyoutwardly from the post to upright sidewalls defining a reservoircontaining soil and at least one plant.
 18. The plant holder inaccordance with claim 1, further comprising shading material mountedabove at least one of the radial arms.
 19. A plant holder comprising:(a) an upright post having an upper end and a lower end; (b) first andsecond arms extending radially from the post; (c) first and second plantcontainers connected to the first and second arms, respectively, theplant containers containing plants; (d) a manifold mounted to the post,the manifold having a housing defining a chamber formed therein forcontaining water, and a closure formed in the housing, said closurebeing adapted to permit matter to be placed in the chamber; (e) aplurality of watering lines, each line having a sidewall defining aninternal passage, each of said watering lines being mounted to themanifold with its internal passage in fluid communication with thechamber, and each of said watering lines having a nozzle near arespective plant container; (f) a water source adapter in fluidcommunication with the chamber for connecting a water source conduit tothe manifold; (g) a base mounted to the post's lower end, the baseextending radially outwardly from the post for supporting the post; and(h) a third plant container positioned beneath the first plantcontainer, for receiving water that falls from the first plantcontainer.
 20. The plant holder in accordance with claim 19, wherein atleast some of said watering lines extend from the manifold into theplant containers for watering the plants.
 21. The plant holder inaccordance with claim 19, further comprising third and fourth armsextending radially from the post.
 22. A plant holder comprising: (a) anupright post having an upper end and a lower end; (b) first and secondarms extending radially from the post for connecting first and secondplant containers containing plants to the first and second arms,respectively; (c) a manifold mounted to the post, the manifold having ahousing defining a chamber formed therein for containing water; (d) aplurality of watering lines, each line having a sidewall defining aninternal passage, each of said watering lines being mounted to themanifold with its internal passage in fluid communication with thechamber, and each of said watering lines having a nozzle near arespective one of the arms.